Dressmaking Gone Awry and Other Stuff

My last post alluded to my making a dress for myself for granddaughter McKenna's upcoming wedding . . . well, I was hesitant to even attempt this project but did go ahead and cut it out and had it sewn up to a trying-on stage. Let me just say that I've developed a Plan B; as my dad used to say about the dresses we girls wore (or tried to wear) back in the '60's, it was "TS and TT" (too short and too tight)! That'll learn me! After telling my sister about the disaster, she recalled something a lovely lady friend said, " I’ll never forget what Bernice said about sewing her own clothes: she did it for years until she finally got tired of making a garment for Goodwill for every garment she made for herself! Anyhoo, maybe Plan B should involve Nordstrom’s or someplace of that ilk with attentive staff and elegant dressing rooms." Hahaha! 

So, although Plan B was not going to a place with "attentive staff and elegant dressing rooms," it does involve "store-bought!" A nice skirt and top from one of my favorite shops, J Jill. 

The ill-fated dress w/o sleeves because why would I sew sleeves in when it doesn't fit??!

The thing is, I did French seams to prevent raveling of the linen fabric, and put in an invisible zipper which was no small task! I will stick to making costumes for the grands and great grands and quilts from now on!

The J Jill deep blue skirt and peplum print top. 

The colors for the wedding are soft blue, sage green, and ivory as I mentioned at the end of my last blog post and so I think I'll blend in okay. Grandpa has a navy blue suit and will be wearing a green striped tie (and white shirt) which matches my top perfectly. Of course, our clothing will not really matter what with the bride and groom being the stars for the day!

The label for the wedding quilt that I had made by a local lady was not what I expected.

It looks like her embroidery machine went wacky on the "Made" part.

So, I emailed to my talented sister in San Diego asking her if she might break out her machine embroidery skills and make a better label for me. She obliged and I am so very pleased with it! Here it is sewn onto the quilt, ready for gifting Friday:

I love that my sister added all the necessary words and was able to fit it on a hexagon! Thank you Margrette!

Now that that was done, I moved on to picking the illustration I'd done for the wedding card and crafting the card. I also made a card to accompany the $$ we are giving the couple for their honeymoon.

I chose the watercolor (see last blog post), cut it out and attached it to a tag. I've tied it to the basket with a pretty bow.

On the back of the big tag I printed out a favorite quote from Martin Luther about marriage: "Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave."

Card for the honeymoon $$. The Distress Ink blending was inspired by this card by Yana Smakula as was the design.

I cut the Romantic Sunset Island design (#81977) on my Silhouette Cameo cutting machine and designed the sentiment using Dingleberry font. The happy couple are going to Kauai HI for their honeymoon, hence the tropical theme.

While I had my stamp and craft stuff out, I made a card for a young friend who is going to be 21 years of age on the 25th of this month. I thought it'd be fun to use StampinUp!'s Mixed Drinks stamp set.

Just by happy accident, there are 20 drinks showing on the front.

And on the inside, the 21st! Happy birthday Shannon!

I have some leftovers from the honeymoon card to make an anniversary card for granddaughter Brittany and her husband, the bride McKenna's older sister. Funnily enough, their wedding date is August 16th (McKenna and Travis's being the 17th)! I'd better get on the ball and get it in the mail! They will most likely get it late as US Postal Service is not always the quickest.

Fourteen days into this month and at least one of the watermelons in our garden is ready to pick. I think we will do just that and feast on it this Thursday evening with granddaughter McKenna who will be home before her big day Friday.

This is the largest of three melons surviving on the vine. Very heavy!

Enjoying these ordinary days!

Hazel

July Musings

Hello, hello!

Mid summer and the living is S L O W and H O T here on Vine. However, the garden is growing and indoor chores are getting done. We planted two tomato plants in May and they have reached to five feet and covered the 4 X 6 foot raised box; the vines are completely covered in fruit and we expect to have ripe tomatoes by the end of this week . . . yay! Do love some fresh off-the-vine 'maters! Another fruit making a grand showing is the watermelon - my granddaughter gave me four Crimson Sweet seedlings for Mother's Day and the two that survived are mega-producing!

June 27, 2018 - The start.

July 18, 2018 - Tiny first fruit.

July 24, 2018 - Palm size.

July 28, 2018 (just four days later!) - Two palms size.

I know it probably seems silly to get so excited over a watermelon, but this is the first time we've planted one and we are amazed! Thanks to my watermelon-loving granddaughter, we'll be sinking our teeth into sweetness in a couple weeks! Incidentally, that same granddaughter, McKenna Clare, is getting married August 17th to a fine young fellow and we'll be gifting them with a quilt which I made all by myself. Here are more progression photos:

 

The rows laid out on the living room floor in preparation for sewing together.

Bent over the sewing machine stitching the rows together.

The completed top draped over lawn chairs.

Machine quilted by Michelle Jensen - ready for binding.

The flange binding - so pretty!

Test drive on our bed!

I began this quilt summer 2017; that is, I purchased the video class from Craftsy, Make a Colorful Hexagon Bed Quilt by Amy Gibson (no longer available) and decided to use some batik prints that my sister had given to me way back, I can't remember when. My sweet and handy husband made templates out of some plexiglass that I had saved because I might need it someday and I began cutting the hexagons and triangles. I'd gotten some pale grey cotton for the background, binding, and back. Well, my chicken heart loomed and the project was put on hold. I couldn't imagine that I had the wherewithal to make a quilt that BIG - my previous attempts were baby or throw size and I had found those daunting. Anyway, long story short, granddaughter McKenna said YES to her squeeze Travis's proposal in April of this year and the wheels began to engage in a confident sort of way. By golly! I can make this quilt! And so, I began sewing in earnest by the first week of July and by the 26th had it completed except for a label (which another talented woman is embroidering for me). Today I stopped at our local furniture store and found a very neat antiqued metal crate to present it to the newlyweds August 17th.

A pretty presentation.

My current sewing project is making myself a dress for the wedding. I haven't sewn a garment (anyway for myself) for years and am looking forward to seeing if I can still do it - and have it fit! Haha! The one thing that bugs me about this is the size I'm having to use . . . ack! The days of misses size 10/12 are certainly long gone!

August has a few birthdays that I want to make handmade cards for and, of course, there is a card to make for McKenna and Travis's wedding day. I have gotten a start on that having colored in two of an illustration I found in an online coloring book site.

The illustration on the left I colored with Zig Real Brush Watercolors and the one on the right I did with colored pencils.

The wedding colors are soft blue, sage green, and ivory and the bride is a blonde and the groom is a redhead. Right now I'm leaning toward using the watercolored one for the final card. What do you think? Watercolor or pencil?

Loving life here on Vine.

Bye for now!

More Finds for the 2015 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt

Hello, hello!

Following along with Rinda's Photo Scavenger Hunt, I'm happy to add a few more finds.  Yesterday after taking a photo of the college campus down the street and then the traffic signal on Main, it occurred to me that (duh!) there are [#9] tents aplenty set up in parking lots selling fireworks for Independence Day celebrations! So, without further ado, here are not only photos of a couple of those, but a few more to whittle down the list.

#1 - A bouquet of flowers

Appropriately, an Independence Day bouquet! Display at the entrance of Albertson's market.

These, I thought, were lovely, but I didn't buy one; probably because I am pretty single-minded when I'm at the market and headed right for the steaks (for tomorrow's BBQ), cob corn, and watermelon!

#7 - A turtle

There is some controversy going on amongst hunters, I've noticed, about turtles vs. tortoises. This, after looking closely, is most definitely a tortoise; a plaster yard-art tortoise. 

I will continue to look for a "turtle" but in the meantime, I am going with this! :)

# 8 - Someone 'plugged' into social media

My husband and BC (Barn Cat) checking ...

...the PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboy's Association) website which for him (my husband, not the cat) is social media!

Hoping this works!

#9 - A tent

And here are two of the, at least, three tents set up to sell fireworks for the Independence Day holiday; and, in Utah, Pioneer Days on the 24th  of July.

I thought it was cool the way I captured the big U.S. garrison flag in the background of the second tent! Doesn't take much to entertain me!

#10 - A college or university

The Tooele Regional Campus of Utah State University right down the street!

I suppose I could also claim #5 - Architectural column with this photo, but I'm hoping to find something a bit more elaborate. That is all part of the hunt, right?!

#14 - A traffic signal

Stopped at Main Street in Tooele, heading east on Vine.

This is certainly not as original as the traffic signal on the lock that Amanda put up, but it's representative of the signals in this small town. You can't see in this photo, but Main Street is under construction and traffic is very dependent on these signals!

#16 - A panoramic view taken while standing someplace high in the air

I was standing on a knoll above this, looking down. This is the Wyoming Wild Horse and Burro Shelter in Rock Springs, Wyoming.

There are lots of wild horses here, all gathered by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) as part of the Wild Horse Adoption and Management Program. This was one interesting bit that we saw on our day road trip to Rock Springs on the 21st of June. Rock Springs isn't much to write home about, but people probably say that about Tooele! :)

So, here's how the list looks now:

SCAVENGER HUNT LIST

1. A bouquet of flowers
2. An ornate door knocker
3. A person walking a dog (or other animal)
4. People playing a board game or card game
5. Architectural columns
6. A metal bridge
7. A turtle
8. Someone "plugged in" to social media 
9. A tent
10. A college or university
11. A cellular tower or television satellite dish
12. A public restroom, bathroom, or toilet
13. A merry-go-round or carousel
14. A traffic signal
15. A flag pole with at least three flags on it
16. A panoramic view, taken while standing someplace high in the air
17. At least two people wearing matching outfits or uniforms
18. An overloaded truck, car, bicycle or other vehicle
19. A ticket booth
20. A natural body of water
21. A photograph of you with a sign reading "2015 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt". Note: you may not use a substitute for this item.
If you find something on the list too difficult, you may substitute one of the following items for any one item on the list, except for Item #21:
Alternative A: People eating outside
Alternative B: Someone holding an umbrella
Alternative C: A rocking chair

Ten out of 21 - not too bad for one month and three day's worth of hunting! Tomorrow I'm pretty sure I will find #17 (people in parades tend to dress alike!), possibly #13 (there might be a carousel at the park but most likely it'll be a bounce house!), and definitely #19 when we go to the rodeo tomorrow evening. I should consider capturing the alternatives, just in case by September 22nd, I've not found a couple that may give me a problem; like, #4 and #18!

Happy summertime greetings from HOT Utah!

More Summertime Photos Hunted Down

Hello, hello!
Saturday morning, hot outside, cool inside. Breakfast eaten, dishes done, load of laundry wishy-washing away. Go wash the truck, pick up stuff at Home Depot, move slowly. . .
I have two more photos to add to the 2014 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt  and here they are!

#2 - Garden Gnome. These little "people" kind of creep me out generally speaking but my next door neighbor loves them! So, I steeled myself and snapped a picture of hers; all in the name of fulfilling an item on the list!

#11 - A horn. At first I thought, "How can one photograph a sound?" but then, duh, I re-thought and here ya' go! These five players did a ragtime number aside from the whole band's performance. Marvelous!

Okay, six down, 15 to go! This is pretty darn fun!

This last week I got around to (finally!) the May 2014 Studio Calico Scrapbook kit and made this layout commemorating our 28 year wedding anniversary. Really like the gold rub-ons and wish there were a whole lot more . . . hehe!

P.S. The black button thingys are magnets holding the page to a magnetic frame - not part of the layout.

So, I think that's all I can muster for today.

Laters!